Recovering B-24D 42-40972: The Last Radio Call Before the Mountain Hit

Описание: #B24D_42_40972 #AviationHistory #PlaneCrash #AircraftRecovery #WreckageRecovery
B-24D 42-40972 is a WWII aircraft recovery case defined by a single minute. At 01:20 on November 5, 1943, the last radio traffic from the aircraft asked: “Turn on radio range.” A clock later recovered from the wreck stopped at about 01:21—marking the boundary between an operating heavy bomber and a mountain recovery site.

Assigned to the 63rd Bombardment Squadron, 43rd Bombardment Group (Fifth Air Force), the bomber departed Dobodura for an armed reconnaissance over the Bismarck Sea, reported direct hits, then disappeared while navigating a heavy frontal system at night without visual references.

The wreckage of B-24D 42-40972 lay high in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea—around 10,800 feet—on unstable scree where rock movement and avalanches can bury and re-expose debris for decades. In March 2002, data plates, human remains, and ID tags were turned over, triggering a formal wreckage recovery and a dangerous 2003 excavation under strict chain of custody procedures.

In the lab, the B-24D 42-40972 case pivoted to forensic identification—mitochondrial DNA and dental evidence—reaching an “accounted for” outcome in 2006.
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Disclaimer (EN): Educational documentary content; the script notes the official crash cause as “unknown,” even though evidence is consistent with a high-speed impact under power.